Reflecting pool
Type of water feature
A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water with a reflective surface, undisturbed by fountain jets.
01Design
Reflecting pools are often designed with the outer basin floor at the rim slightly deeper than the central area to suppress wave formation. They can be as small as a bird bath to as large as a major civic element. Their origins are from ancient Persian gardens.
02List of notable reflecting pools
- The Miroir d'eau (Water mirror) on Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, France.
- The Mughal garden reflecting pools at the Taj Mahal in Agra, India
- Chehel Sotoun in Iran
- The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and Capitol Reflecting Pool, in Washington, D.C.
- Mary Gibbs and Jesse H. Jones Reflection Pool, Hermann Park, Houston, Texas, U.S.
- The modernist Palácio do Planalto and Palácio da Alvorada in Brasília, Brazil
- Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, Georgia
- The Oklahoma City National Memorial, at the site of the Oklahoma City bombing
- The Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California, where a former reflecting pool was located in front of the stage, c. 1953, 1972
- The National September 11 Memorial & Museum, located at the World Trade Center site in New York City, with two reflecting pools on the location where the Twin Towers stood
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Reflecting pool”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Madrid-Debod-TempleP1340709.jpg by ermell, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Miroir d'eau place de la bourse à Bordeaux.jpg by Calabri, CC BY-SA 3.0
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.